South African FinTech startup, Luno, has announced that it has concluded its Series B fundraising round after receiving approximately $9 million (R120 million) from investors. its expansion into 35 new markets across Europe, The round was led by London-based Balderton Capital.
Luno currently has offices in London, Singapore, and Cape Town, With the conclusion of the Series B fundraising round, Luno will now be available across 40 countries including some in Europe.
“In Europe, we’ve seen an unprecedented demand, not just for the digital currency, but also for our high-quality, secure and very user-friendly products, in particular, the Luno mobile apps. Enabling more people in Europe to have access to these products and services is a critical part of our mission to bring digital currencies to everyone, everywhere – and in a way that makes everyone’s journey into the world of digital currency safe, super easy and highly enjoyable,” said Marcus Swanepoel, CEO at Luno.
Luno has built a Bitcoin platform that allows people to buy, sell and learn about digital currencies. One of the key differentiators is that Luno allows people in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya to buy Bitcoins through a local EFT (bank transfer).
“We’re very excited to partner with Rand Merchant Investments; an experienced and respected financial institution. This partnership will enable us to unlock more value for our customers in South Africa by providing products that are safe, easy to access and use, and all in a regulatory compliant manner. We look forward to working with all the key stakeholders in South Africa to grow this industry in a responsible manner where the benefits of this new technology can be realized by all,” continued Swanepoel.
“From our early roots of being the first company in the world to build a fully-integrated Bitcoin pilot system for a major bank, over the subsequent few years launching consumer wallets, exchanges, and merchant services to become the market leader in Southeast Asia and Africa, starting to build our UK presence in 2016 and now finally launching across the wider Europe: we are now one giant leap closer to our goal of bringing digital currency to everyone, everywhere.”
Rand Merchant Investments, through its Fintech investment arm, AlphaCode, and existing investors Digital Currency Group also participated in the round. According to Luno, the funding will be used for product refinement and development, global expansion and to bring to market some new features.
